psych effects of cd

Question 1

Research support for the effect of mental health on recidivism -

Answer 1

there is research to suggest that the mental health of prisoners in part underpins high rates of recidivism. Cold et al (2007) found that offenders in the UK who received treatment for their mental health
problems while in prison were 60% less likely to commit violent acts than untreated inmates. There are moves globally to consider what the mental health of an offender is like
as they start their prison sentence with treatments then put in place, where possible. This suggests that dealing with the mental health of prisoners could help to reduce recidivism.

Question 2

Mental health issues – cause or effect –

Answer 2

However, a problem with research suggesting that mental health issues are a psychological effect of custodial sentencing, is that it is difficult to know whether the mental health issues within the prison are due to the prison or whether they were already part of the individual. It could be that the offender committed a crime due to their mental health, so it would be an error to state it is an effect of the prison setting, e.g. aggressiveness could be due to the people who are put in prison, and who have
displayed high levels of aggression before being sent to prison. If this were the case, it would be wrong to suggest that prisons cause mental health issues. Therefore, it is important to try to establish whether the mental health issues are caused by the prison, or whether it is part of the individual prisoners before they go into prison in order to help offenders.

Question 3

Individual differences

Answer 3

An additional problem with research into the psychological effects of prison is that there are so many individual differences in how prisoners respond to their time in prison. Although some prisoners might find it psychologically challenging, it cannot be assumed that all offenders will react in the same way. Different prisons have different regimes, so there are likely to be wide variations in experience. In addition, the length of sentence, the reason for going to prison and previous experience of prison may all be important mitigating factors. Therefore, it is difficult to make general conclusions about the
psychological effects of custodial sentencing, which apply to every prisoner and every prison.